


Of Gold and Silver

by BushyHairedAndGinger



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-06-15
Packaged: 2018-07-12 18:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7116763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BushyHairedAndGinger/pseuds/BushyHairedAndGinger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose Weasley could have never imagined a life where she fell in love with Scorpius Malfoy. This is the story of the day they met and the day they knew they had changed for the better. Multi-chap. Slow burn. Follows Rose and the next generation after the epilogue at the end of Deathly Hallows until past her Hogwarts years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hoggy Warty Hogwarts

**Author's Note:**

> I am kind of rusty in the fanfiction writing world, so this may start off a bit rocky. But I am welcome to constructive criticism! I just want to say thanks in advance to anyone who reads this story, it's going to take a while and updates may be a bit wonky but I will get to them! Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, it is the lovely work of the lovely mind of J.K. Rowling. :)

September 2017

The Hogwarts Express started off slowly, and Rose Weasley waved excitedly to her parents and Hugo, her heart sinking as they continued to shrink smaller and smaller, until they were merely dots on the disappearing platform. She tried to push the thought that she had never been away from home without her family to the back of her mind; Hogwarts was something she had been looking forward to her entire life. What with the stories her parents and Uncle Harry had told her, there was no way she was going to miss out on one of the best years of her life because she was scared.

Maybe that just shows you're not a Gryffindor, said a small voice in her head. Well, maybe it did, but she certainly would be fine with any of the other houses. After all, her mother had reminded her time and time again, over her father's loud protests, that her house didn't define her. She sank back in her seat, looking around the empty compartment.

As the countryside zoomed past the window, Rose curled her knees closer to her, pulling out her battered copy of Hogwarts, A New History. Certainly rereading stories about her family's accomplishments was going to put her mind at ease. Though, it had not been a full minute since she had started reading when the compartment door opened, and her older cousin slid in, followed by his younger brother. "Ah, there's our favorite cousin."

"James," she greeted. "Albus."

They both sat across from her in the compartment, and only now did she realize that Albus was looking very frightened. She set down her book, "Oh, Albus, what's wrong? Has someone said something to you?"

James shook his head. "Looks as if he's seen a dementor, doesn't he?" he smirked. "He's just scared about what House he'll be put in."

"That's nothing to worry about!" said Rose, relieved that his troubles were only minor. "You'll be in the house you're meant to be."

"Easy for you to say!" cried Albus. "You've got it all sorted! You know you'll end up in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. I'm not brave enough for me to be certain I'll be put in Gryffindor."

"You are brave!" Rose assured him. "And it's not based on one quality, it's what the hat sees fit. But you have a choice as well. My mum... she was nearly a Hatstall. The Sorting Hat couldn't decide between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, so he let her decide."

"Everyone keeps saying that!"

"Because it's true!" said James exasperatedly. "If you don't want Slytherin, then don't let the Hat choose it."

Albus opened his mouth to argue but decided against it, opting to look out the window instead. Rose could not think of any means of offering any condolence, as she now had renewed fears of being placed in a house other than Gryffindor. Gone were her mother's comforting words, and she heard Albus's worries echoing in her head. Her anxious thoughts and their momentary silence was interrupted as the compartment door opened again, and Scorpius Malfoy peered in.

His eyes glanced over the three of them quickly and widened. "Oh— S-sorry," he said. "I t-thought this was empty." And slammed the door rather loudly.

"Oi, what's his deal?" James's eyebrows were raised. "I mean I know Albus isn't a sight for sore eyes and all but..."

This won a laugh out of Albus and the rest of the train ride carried on blissfully. They joked about learning charms that would anger their parents and making Albus join the Holyhead Harpies and convincing Lily and Hugo that Hogwarts would be closing after this year to be transformed into a massive petting zoo for the Giant Squid. When the trolley witch came by, they all bought loads of sweets and ate until they felt ill and James and Albus argued over who got the better Chocolate Frog card of their father. When they went to change into their robes, Rose resolved to stow away her book, as the dark sky outside would not allow her to make out any of the words. She made to step out of the compartment, and gasped, as she almost set her foot on the body of a small, black-haired girl.

"Goodness! Are you all right?" Rose bent over to observe the girl, who was abnormally still.

She jumped as the girl's eyes flew open, a smile spreading across her face. "I am quite all right! You're Rose Weasley!" she said excitedly. "I'm Andie Corner."

"Right," she said, still reeling at the girl who moments ago she had presumed to be dead. "How did you know that?"

"Well, who doesn't?" said Andie, standing up. "I mean, you're the daughter of two of the most famous people in wizarding history!"

"There's plenty of people like that," said Rose. "What were you doing on the floor?"

Andie tilted her head sideways, causing her short hair to bounce slightly. "I was thinking."

About what, Rose wasn't sure, but she did not question it. She felt an explanation would only confuse her further. "Have you been lying out here the entire ride?"

"No, only just five minutes ago." Andie's azure eyes grew larger as she looked over Rose's shoulder. "James Potter! And Albus!"

James grinned. "I always love meeting fans." He outstretched his hand and Andie shook, not his hand, but her entire body. She squeaked out her name and let out a sigh.

Albus gave her a small smile. "Nice to meet you, Andie," he said, then turned to look at Rose. "Train should be stopping any moment. We'll be at Hogwarts soon."

And soon enough, it did stop. As the chatter of friends meeting each other again and first years asking each other questions filled the station, Rose spotted a familiar tall figure amongst the crowd yelling for the first years to follow him.

"Hagrid!" she shouted, bumping into the other students as she rushed to get closer to their dear family friend.

"Rosie!" he said fondly, his voice booming. "Yer getting bigger an' bigger every time I see yeh. How're yer mum an' dad doing?"

"As good as anyone can be," she said, unknowingly leading the bustle of first years after him. Andie skipped to the front, tagging along at her side and looking at Hagrid curiously.

"Great!" he said, finally taking them around the bend to—

"HOGWARTS!" screamed a fat, pasty ginger haired boy that wasn't a Weasley. At least, not one she knew of.

The castle in question was in front of them, but it was across a black lake, decked with boats at the dock. They all hopped into them and set off across the lake, behind Hagrid's boat, and marveled at the beauty of their new home. The sky glittered with stars and the towers of the castle were growing bigger and bigger as they approached it. Andie and Albus and her other cousin, Roxanne, were all in Rose's boat, murmuring to each other. Not too far away, Scorpius Malfoy was in a boat of his own, along with three other boys who lounged in the back, not looking nearly as impressed as he was.

Rose stared at him, wondering what was so bad about him that her father had felt the need to warn against. Surely, she knew his family's history, but in the glimpses she had caught of Scorpius he had not done anything that would make her want to avoid him. His gray eyes pulled away from the scenery to meet hers, and his face turned a shade of scarlet, but he did not avert his gaze. She offered him a small smile.

"Rosie," said Albus, drawing her attention away from Scorpius. "I think I saw something move!" He pointed, but it was just the ripple of the water as the boat moved across it. When Rose glanced up, Scorpius was not looking at her anymore.

The inside of the castle was nothing short of extravagant, and no edition of Hogwarts history books could have fully captured the beauty of it. Professor Vector led them to the Entrance Hall and said a few words of welcome, then told them they would be sorted soon, setting off another round of talking amongst the students. The Great Hall doors opened and the second through seventh years all looked at them from their tables, watching the awestruck eleven-year-olds walk through the room.

At the staff table, Headmistress McGonagall sat in the center and gave a tight smile as she observed the first years. Professor Vector waited by a stool, with the Sorting Hat placed on top of it. The hat cleared its throat— did it have a throat?— and began to sing proudly.

When it finished, the hall was filled with applause and Professor Vector read the first name out loud curtly. "Alderton, Mary!"

Cheers erupted from the Hufflepuff table upon the announcement of her house and Rose looked around the room; it would be a while until she was sorted. Albus rocked back and forth on his heels as other students took a seat on the stool. She tried to focus on anything other than the fact that his nervousness came off like a bad scent that engulfed her too.

"Corner, Andrea!"

The hat turned this way and that on Andie's head, and she trembled underneath it. "Hmm... positive, very positive. You'd be a great Hufflepuff, you know. But I think you'd make an even finer GRYFFINDOR!"

James shouted something to Andie over the welcoming screams from the Gryffindor table and she took a seat next to him, completely frozen much like she had been on the train. Rose decided she liked her, and if they were going to be dormmates, she would not be too bad at all. Dormmates? Thinking ahead, aren't you? She waved off the thought and turned her attention back to the others.

"Overheard some of the older kids talking earlier," Albus whispered. "Apparently, McGonagall's got a big announcement to make tonight."

Rose scowled. "About what?"

He shook his head. "I dunno. I think they heard Uncle Neville say something about it."

Her head snapped up to the staff table, she had forgotten about him. Neville Longbottom sat towards the end, in between Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra. He caught her eye and waved, giving her a wide smile.

"Malfoy, Scorpius!" said Professor Vector, and the blond boy climbed up to the stool and disappeared underneath the Sorting Hat.

"There's a name I haven't heard in a while," said the Hat. "Malfoy, Malfoy, Malfoy. You belong in SLYTHERIN!"

Scorpius hopped off the stool and went to join the roaring Slytherins. He brushed against Rose and when she whirled to look at him, he flashed her an apologetic look.

"That boy is strange," said Albus.

After a few minutes, he was called, and he mounted the steps to the sound of the Gryffindor table chanting his surname. It seemed James was leading the cheer. But the hat had not even touched his hair when it shouted, "RAVENCLAW!" And the hall went dead silent.

Rose found her mouth was hanging open after a few moments, and looked around to see all of the students were staring as Albus walked stiffly to the Ravenclaw table, complete silence surrounding them.

There was a clatter as a goblet was knocked over and James stood and shouted, "THAT'S MY BROTHER!" prompting the entire hall to burst into deafening applause. Albus visibly relaxed and when he was clapped on the back by Ravenclaw prefects and people reached out to shake his hand, he let out a shaky laugh.

Roxanne scooted closer to Rose and linked arms with her. "Ready, Rosie?" she asked, slightly trembling.

Rose nodded and kept her eyes fixed on the ground until she heard: "Weasley, Rose!"

The stool was hard as sat on it and the Hat covered her vision, it danced on her head before it let out a low laugh.

"The Weasleys just keep coming, don't they?" the Hat said. "Don't worry, you're easily a GRYFFINDOR!"

She let out a sigh of relief and skipped towards the Gryffindor table, where she could now see her cousins Fred, Victoire, and Molly were. She sat on the other side of Andie and was surprised to feel the girl wrap her arms around her. And soon after, Roxanne joined Dominique at the Slytherin table and after a greeting from Headmistress McGonagall, the feast began.

Molly's Prefect badge gleamed as she leaned over to congratulate Rose. "You'll be a fantastic Prefect once I'm gone!"

"And what if she doesn't want to be?" asked James, chewing on a turkey leg. "What if she's a troublemaker like me?"

"I'll be both," said Rose gleefully.

Molly's eyes widened in terror. "You can't be both!"

Rose glanced at the Ravenclaw table, ignoring James and Molly's bickering. Albus seemed to be making friends already. Some of the second years were now serenading him as he threw his head back in laughter. Lucy Weasley sat nearby, shaking her head at their antics while scooping pudding into her mouth. A weight lifted off her shoulders, there was nothing to worry about anymore.

Once everyone had eaten, the tables cleared and McGonagall rose again to speak. She gave warnings on what parts of the castle were off limits, including the Room of Requirement. Her speech included a few messages from Mr. Filch and that Ministry officials would come around certain times of the year to transport artifacts from the school to the Ministry.

"And, lastly, it is with a heavy heart that I inform you," she sighed. "This will be my final year as Headmistress."

Muttering and gasps exploded in the hall.

"Now we really have to tell Lily and Hugo that Hogwarts is over," James whispered.

Rose's heart sunk, if there was anyone in the world she admired more than her parents, it was Minerva McGonagall. With her leaving Hogwarts, she was afraid of the prospect of a new headmaster. McGonagall had been a close family friend, a sense of comfort among the unfamiliarity surrounding her. Her next years at Hogwarts were going to be much bleaker.

"I am afraid my best years have come to pass, and pushing my luck is not the best choice for me. I am grateful, however, for each and every one of you," said McGonagall. "Hogwarts has welcomed me when I've needed it the most, both when I was a student and now. So, I'd like to say one last thing before I bid you goodnight: thank you."


	2. Christmas at the Burrow

December 2017

Fall passed quickly, with a whirlwind of activity. September had gone smoothly; the transition to classes was easy for Rose since she had cracked open her course books long before the school year had started. She effortlessly drifted to the top of the class, immediately falling in love with Charms and Potions. Making friends wasn't too difficult either. More often than not, Andie and her found themselves talking until the wee hours of the morning in the Common Room, until a bleary-eyed prefect came to tell them off.

Halloween was a grand affair. James had managed to convince their Uncle George to send out a Stormtrooper costume, and he paraded to every class willfully and obnoxiously singing the Star Wars theme wherever he went. Though, at the feast, he decided the helmet was too heavy and distracted him from the task at hand, so he charmed the helmet to fly over the Slytherin table, bumping the heads of the students, until Professor Vector snapped at him.

Albus sometimes would join them at the Gryffindor table, and November came and went without him ever leaving. Quidditch season had begun and they went to support Molly, Fred, and James as they won a 230 to 200 victory over Slytherin. Their captain, Brendan Davies, shouted an excuse that their best Keeper got a nasty virus on a Hogsmeade trip, but was drowned out by the sound of Fred and James leading a dance in the Hufflepuff section.

It was December now, about an hour until they were due to depart for winter holidays. Rose pulled her trunk behind her, making her way to the Entrance Hall, where they were supposed to meet to go to the train. On her way, she spotted Scorpius Malfoy, in a dark green jumper, bent over one of his schoolbooks on the floor in a hallway.

"You're not leaving Hogwarts?" she asked, noticing the absence of any baggage. He looked up at her and closed his book, shaking his head.

"Well, why not?" she said indignantly. "Don't you want to be with your family for Christmas?"

"My books are keeping me company," he said, patting the stack of books on the other side. "I think you of all people could understand that."

"Charms?" she asked, reading the title of the thick volume in his lap. "Why are you studying that?"

"I've got to make up an assignment for Professor Flitwick that I missed. I was ill, you see."

"Caught it from the Slytherin Keeper?" she smiled, and the corner of his lips slowly turned upward.

"Yeah, something of that sort," he said.

"That's rotten."

Scorpius shifted uncomfortably. "My parents are on holiday in Spain. To answer your question from earlier," he said. "I reckon they would've invited me if they wanted the company."

Rose bristled. It never occurred to her that families could be separated willingly at holidays. Christmas and New Year were the best time of the year, the time you were supposed to spend with your family. It was illogical that Malfoy's family were on vacation without him, but then again, his family wasn't exactly the warm, welcoming type.

"Can't you stay with other relatives? Like your grandparents?" she asked.

He stood and she noticed he was the same height as her. "Sure, I could. But my mum's parents are in Spain too and I think my dad's parents won't be as festive as Hogwarts is." He pointed at the wreaths hung haphazardly across the hall. "I don't think going home is the best option for me."

"That's stupid!" she cried, immediately regretting it as soon as she saw his expression. "No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

He held up a hand to stop her. "It's fine. We can't all have large families like yours. You're always surrounded by them," he said. His words stung.

"That's not true."

"Rosie!"

Molly came down the steps, two at a time, her trunk charmed to float behind her. "There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere. You know grandmum won't be happy if we miss the train. Where have—Malfoy," she said, stopping short at the sight of him.

Scorpius shrunk under her gaze. "I've got to go to the owlery. I have some letters to send," he said quietly, not meeting Molly's glare. "Happy Christmas, Weasleys."

Rose wanted to stop him, to apologize, but he was already up the stairs to the next landing. Molly didn't question her behavior but instead rushed them to the train, where her cousins were split into three compartments.

"What took you two so long?" asked Fred, popping his head out of a compartment. The others followed suit.

"Yeah, Rose where were you?"

Molly had a big mouth. "I caught her talking to the Malfoy boy."

Eight pairs of eyes focused on her. James and Albus wore similar surprised looks.

"It was nothing like that!" Rose said defensively. Didn't they have anything better to worry about other than what she could possibly be doing with Malfoy?

"You were getting close with Malfoy?" Dominique cried. "Honestly, Rosie, you've only just started Hogwarts. I'm sure there's other fish in the sea."

"Oh, bugger off! She's just being nice, that's all," Roxanne said, coming to her rescue. "Besides, Malfoy is nothing like his family. He's actually pretty decent."

"Decent? Don't let granddad hear you praising him," said Victoire coldly, but she moved off the subject.

Rose mouthed her a quick "thank you" and Roxanne nodded, following the others back into the compartments.

Luckily, she managed to avoid any further interrogations for the duration of the train ride by falling asleep against the frost-covered window, her bushy, red hair scratching her face.  
***  
Christmas at the Burrow was always a splendid affair. Rose's grandmother, mother, aunts (except for Angelina), and Uncle Charlie were in charge of preparing meals for the day before and the day of. Her dad, George, and Harry were responsible for decorating the entire house, from the several thousand stockings on the fireplace mantel to the garlands with charmed Father Christmas figurines. It all turned out great, even with her grandfather sneaking in Muggle trinkets to decorate the large tree in the drawing room, and kept everyone in a festive mood.

Though Christmas was when the Burrow reached its breaking point. Literally. With the overwhelming amount of Weasleys typically in attendance, Bill and his father had expanded the house a few years back, but it seemed every year they needed more space, though their numbers hadn't grown in a while. Harry always invited Teddy and his grandmother for the event, though she'd heard this year they had declined, and sometimes Neville Longbottom or the Scamanders would drop by, so there was not always a guarantee that everyone would get a seat.

It was Christmas Eve now. Rose lounged on the couch, under her Uncle Percy's arm, as he rocked her back and forth while he chorused Muggle Christmas songs with Harry, George, and Ron. She had the sneaking suspicion that he'd tipped back one drink too many, for he reeked of firewhiskey. Hugo laid on his stomach on the hardwood floor, playing chess with James. He cried out as James's queen gave his rook a rather nasty beating. Lily played tag with Dominique and Albus, squealing and running in and out of the drawing room. The others were no doubt creating a mess in the kitchen or in their respective rooms.

"For Merlin's sake, Hugo, move your bishop to E5!" said Angelina from her spot on the floor next to the boys, stroking a purring Crookshanks in her lap.

"Oi!" said Ron, pausing from the music. "Don't talk to my son like that!"

"Ah, it feels like Christmas already!" George exclaimed gleefully, throwing an arm around his brother before he leaped on top of him.

"Geroff!"

"Rosie, how often is it you see two grown men behaving like a pair of grindylows?" asked Percy.

She smiled as Ron and George moved their struggle to the floor. "Usually? Not that much." The pair knocked the hot chocolate on the coffee table onto Harry's Weasley sweater and he swore loudly. "In this family? Very often."

"All right! Are you two wizards or what? If you want a proper fight, hex him. Otherwise, mum says dinner's ready," said Ginny, appearing at the doorway and shaking her head at her brothers.

Somehow, and Rose swore she would get this spell from her grandmother one day, they had managed to set a table for all of them. Every year, this feat amazed her, and every year she swore she was purposely stuck in between James and Fred. The table was decked with food; there was turkey, stuffing, sausages, roasted potatoes, boiled carrots, mashed turnip, parsnips, bread stuffing, and cranberry sauce. A few drinks were put out and the table had twenty-six plates with utensils.

"Twenty-six?" asked Bill, worriedly. "Why twenty-six? Mum, you're not..."

"No, of course not!" said Grandmum.

Rose had been told that after the Battle of Hogwarts, her grandmother used to set the table for all the kids, including the late Fred Weasley. It was hard for her to finally come to terms with her son's death, and whenever she acted as if Fred were still around, they were afraid she had reverted to her devastated state once more.

"Then who's coming?" asked Lily, sneaking a drink of her pumpkin juice.

There was a creak as the door opened. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm late!" came a familiar voice.

Teddy walked into the dining room, coat and all, his bright pink hair hidden under a hat. His boots squeaked as he took the last seat between Harry and Hermione, beaming at everyone. Everyone cheered and welcomed him except for Victoire, who shrunk in her chair, her eyes fixed on her plate of food.

"I've left everyone's gifts in the drawing room. And I also brought a bottle of Ogden's finest," he said breathlessly, trying to catch Victoire's eye.

"You always know how to start a proper Christmas party, big brother," said James. Teddy winked as Ginny shot her son a look.

Granddad smiled. "We appreciate that you could join us tonight, Teddy. And we hope you can stay past midnight to open presents with us."

"I think I can manage," Teddy said, spooning cranberry sauce onto his plate.

Dinner continued on a good note, with everyone retelling stories of the things they'd done at Hogwarts. James and Albus purposely censored parts of their story they knew would anger their mother, but shared a look with their father that most likely meant they would say the full story to him later on. As dessert was served, Rose expressed her love for her classes and favorite assignments, to the enjoyment of her mother and Percy. But George looked as if he were a minute away from falling asleep in his pudding. She listened as Molly ranted about prefect duties and Teddy agreed, though it didn't look as if he was focused much on her. Hugo was begging for seconds of the treacle tart when Victoire rose from her chair.

"May I be excused?" she asked, not waiting for an answer before she turned on her heel and left. Teddy looked down at his hands solemnly.

Charlie cleared his throat. "Why couldn't Andromeda come?" he said, trying to break the tension.

"I reckon her Celestina Warbeck fan club got tickets to see her live one last time," Teddy laughed weakly. "Or something of that sort."

"She couldn't have spared me a ticket?" Grandmum asked, waving her wand to pick up the dishes.

Ron frowned. "But Mum, who would have made Christmas Eve dinner?"

"Perhaps you could if you got off your arse every once and a while."

"George!" Granddad exclaimed over the laughs of the younger Weasleys.

Harry, Angelina, Fleur, and Teddy helped grandmum clean up the rest, as the others went back to gather around the Christmas tree. Hugo picked up his chess game again, this time against Lily, as James cheered her on. Granddad tinkered with the wireless, until a twenty-four hour Christmas station came blaring into the room. Even Victoire was wedged in a tiny corner of the room, her eyes bloodshot and looking more disheveled than she had in her life.

"What's happened, Victoire?" Rosie whispered, sitting on the chair closest to her.

Dominique immediately joined them, nearly sitting herself on Rose's lap. "She's sulking 'cause she's been fighting with her boyfriend," she said loudly, drawing the attention of some of the family.

"Shut up," snapped Victoire, not meeting their eyes.

Dominique continued, "Mhm, tell her how you went on a lovely date with Teddy and it was all ruined because you were being childish."

"I wasn't being childish!" yelled Victoire, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. "I was justified— I wanted to prove something to myself."

Dominique raised an eyebrow. "How's that working out for you?"

"Quite fine, actually! We are not on speaking terms until further notice."

By this point, Hugo, Lily, and James had long abandoned the chess game. Rose leaned closer to her. "I understand if you don't want to say what happened but it can't have been that bad, what Teddy did."

"You don't know anything that happened. Stay out of it," Victoire said dangerously.

Rose nodded slowly. "I know but it can't be that serious. You two have never fought this much before."

This seemed to hit a nerve. "Oh?" Victoire cried. "I don't know what's serious or not in my life? What makes you the relationship expert? All of a sudden you're getting friendly with Malfoy and you think you're some all-knowing Seer."

Ron tensed. "What?"

Molly sunk into the couch as if she willed herself to disappear. Heat crept up Rose's face as she turned to face her father, and was surprised to see the rest of her older relatives were looking at her with similar expressions of shock.

"Rose," he said firmly. "What is she talking about?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not here, Ron."

Victoire seemed to immediately regret letting it slip and looked at Rose as if she were sorry. Ginny shook her head, not at Rose, but at Ron, warning him to leave her alone.

"What is she talking about?" he repeated.

"It was nothing," said Rose nervously. "I just talked to him, that's all."

Ron stood up quickly. "A word. Please."

"It's Christmas. Lay off, Ron. I'll open the bottle Teddy brought and we'll forget all about it," said George.

But Ron nodded his head toward the door and she reluctantly followed him up to the next landing. She trembled, afraid of what her father would say, and was surprised to hear him sigh. "I just want you to keep a few things in mind when you're choosing who you're friends with." Footsteps echoed and Hermione appeared at the top of the steps tentatively.

"You know the type of family he comes from, right?" Ron began. "Well, might I remind you they're the same people who harassed your granddad at work for several years. The same family that gave your Aunt Ginny a diary full of dark magic that possessed her for most of her first year. His father constantly disrespected your mother. In fact, their manor is the place where your mother was nearly—" he gulped, and looked away from her.

Rose looked at her feet, pressure building in her throat.

Hermione put a gentle hand on her arm. "Rosie, you're allowed to be friends with whoever you want. We both trust your judgement. Your father is just concerned for you, we both are, but he doesn't want you to forget where Malfoy comes from. He doesn't want you to get hurt. Please understand that."

Ron trembled, his brows knit. "I couldn't save your mum from everything but if anything were to happen to you and I knew I could've stopped it before it happened..."

"We're on better terms with the Malfoys now," Hermione assured her. "But just be careful. That's all we ask."

"I'm s-sorry," she stammered, tears spilling over. "I swear all I did was talk to him."

"And I believe you. You can keep talking to him." Hermione enveloped her in her arms and Rose buried her face in her mother's chest. With a little prodding from Hermione, Ron finally spoke again.

"I'm sure Scorpius is a fine boy. Just make sure you pay attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts, all right?"

"Ron!"

"What? I'm serious!" He sighed and outstretched his arms. "I love you, Rosie."

She hopped into them quickly. "I love you too."

Downstairs, everyone chose to disregard the incident and was back to enjoying their merriment. The family members in the kitchen had soon gathered in drawing room with them and together they chattered and sung and laughed until they all felt as if they were losing their voices. Midnight approached and Harry volunteered to play Father Christmas, giving every single person one present to open from the stack that nearly caused the tree to topple over. The Weasleys had formed a new tradition in recent years; they would all open one present after midnight and wish each other a Happy Christmas before going to bed.

"One minute!" Lily cried, shaking the box her father had handed her.

Rose looked down at her own present, a badly wrapped lump addressed from Andie to her. James carried a small gift from her parents in his hand, looking at it in confusion.

"Five... four... three... two... one!"

The sound of ripping paper and tossing boxes filled the air. The younger children squealed as they opened their presents. Rose gasped at hers, a bouquet of charmed chocolate and caramel roses from Honeydukes. She snatched it out of the way as Hugo put his Fanged Frisbee down to take a bit of her candy.

"Er— Aunt Hermione? Uncle Ron?" James called, holding up what appeared to be a bright pink coin purse. "I think you've given me Lily's present."

"No, we haven't," said Ron flatly.

James looked bewildered, flipping the purse in his hands until he opened it and looked inside. His head snapped up. "NO WAY!" He reached inside, the undetectable extension charm allowing him to go elbow-deep into the purse.

"That's brilliant!" Fred cried, pulling on his oversized Weasley sweater.

James had extracted a brand new, shiny Firebolt Supreme and looked as if he were near tears. "They said this was exclusively for Quidditch players!"

"You can pull a few strings when you're in the Magical Law Department," said Hermione.

"Why do we have to wait 'til morning?" Albus whined, leaning over to look under the Christmas tree. "I want to see what I got from them now."

Teddy scowled. "What? You don't like the nut collection I got you?"

"As much as I love nuts..." Albus started, causing the others to burst into laughs.

Snow was falling lightly outside, creating a blanket of white over the garden. The Burrow was the only place in sight, no other houses were nearby other than the long abandoned Lovegood home and the village of Ottery St. Catchpole a few minutes away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and let me know what you think!


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